Rangers

Overview

Rangers in roleplaying games and video games are are very clearly inspired by the character of Strider ( Aragorn) in Lord of the Rings. Rangers tend to be skilled at fighting in light or medium armor, wise in the ways of nature, good at tracking, and often follow a good cause. In video games, they tend to be bonded to nature, and serve as its guardians - these rangers share qualities with druids, and are often considered to be hybrids of fighters and druids, sharing features from both classes. Other rangers have less to do with nature, and act more as combat/scouting units. The bow is a typical ranger weapon, and thanks to Drizzt Do'Urden, many rangers are expected to dual wield bladed weapons.

EverQuest

In EverQuest, rangers are a hybrid of Warriors and Druids and possess the ability to not only dual wield, but are second to none in the field of ranged weapons. They are also masters of tracking, which allows them to locate specific targets from great distances, or avoid danger in some circumstances. Rangers are limited to chainmail, which hinders their ability to tank when compared to paladins or warriors, but with the use of their druidic spells and archery, they can solo from a distance. In groups, Rangers offer a myriad of skills that can benefit their friends whether its tracking, pulling, foraging food/water, or of course Spirit of the Wolf.

Heroes of Might and Magic

The ranger is a hero class for the nature-based alignments in Heroes of Might and Magic III, IV and V. In HoMM III, the ranger is a might class belonging to the Rampart Town. Rangers are dedicated to the protection of nature. They are gifted with a bow and have great knowledge on survival in the wild. In HoMM IV, hero classes are determined by the dominant primary skills a hero posesses. A hero with the primary skills of Scouting and Might gets promoted to the Ranger class. In HoMM V, the ranger is the sole hero class in the Sylvan (wood elf) faction. All rangers in this game specialize in Defense and Knowledge.